Oklahoma football: Sterling Shepard compared to more than just his father

NATIONAL SIGNING DAY / SIGN / SIGNED: Heritage Hall's Sterling Shepard signs to play football for the University of Oklahoma (OU) as family members applaud during the National Signing Day ceremony at Heritage Hall in Oklahoma City, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012. Photo by Nate Billings, The Oklahoman

“He looks just like his daddy running around,” Gundy said. “I can remember as a kid, watching his dad run around, and he looks just like his dad.”

His father is one of two former Sooners with whom Sterling Shepard has been compared by those around the program.

Shepard's on-field strengths have many thinking he could be the next Ryan Broyles, the recently departed all-time NCAA receptions leader and current Detroit Lion.

High praise, to be sure. Shepard could very well find himself occupying Broyles' slot position as a true freshman after impressive showings during summer workouts and fall practices.

Comparisons between Sterling Shepard and his father, though, carry with them a family legacy and memories of his hero, whose untimely death left him with a painful void.

Gundy was struck by just how much Sterling Shepard looks and plays like his dad in a No. 3 Sooners jersey; still, that doesn't mean there aren't some differences between the two Shepards, at least as freshmen.

Derrick Shepard arrived at Oklahoma in 1982 as a 159-pound walk-on quarterback before moving to wideout, earning a scholarship, winning a national championship and playing five NFL seasons.

Sterling Shepard, on the other hand, was a four-star recruit from Heritage Hall with lots of offers, and enters his freshman season weighing 188 pounds.

“The difference is, he's as big as his dad was as a senior in college,” Gundy said.

As a senior at Heritage Hall last season, Shepard made 73 catches for 1,243 yards and 17 touchdowns.

His 5-foot-10 frame, intelligence and hands made him exciting to many Sooner fans, who saw Shepard as a possible successor to Broyles.

Reports and rumors through the summer indicated Shepard was performing extremely well and on his way toward earning playing time and maybe even a starting role, especially in the aftermath three receivers' indefinite suspension in May.

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Jason Kersey became The Oklahoman's OU football beat writer in May 2012 after a year covering high school sports and OSU recruiting. Before joining the newspaper in November 2006 as a part-time results clerk, he covered high school football for...